I’ve just finished Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s main story and yeah, I can’t possibly recommend it enough. Definitely in my Top 3 games of the year.
It took me around 45 hours to complete the game + most of the side stuff. Now onto grinding to tackle the endgame.
Completion #103: FIFA 21
Special Christmas completion! I’ve unlocked most of the longest achievements back in the Xbox One version, and the online progress carried over to the new generation. When it launched I managed to tackle most of the co-op achievements that I was missing and decided to finally try the Volta mode achievements.
I met the requirements to be promoted a few weeks ago, but I had to wait until the end of the current season to grab the last achievement – which happened to be on Christmas day. FIFA is always a special and tough completion for me, so I’m glad I managed to get it done before the end of the year!
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla 1000/1000. Only 123 hours, nice and easy completion! 
Look at you guys with your fancy completions and GS. Pfft, not jelous at all. Not at all.
I want more time!
Ha! Everyone has an inspired month every now and then. You never know what January could bring you!
I’d like to finish the month (and year!) with another nice completion, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to. This last dungeon in Yakuza is INSANE. I have a full level 99 team with upgraded weapons and gear and yet I get my ass kicked on the very first fight.
As someone who doesn’t play sports games I’m curious what the achievements in FIFA games are like? Do they generally follow a similar pattern from game to game?
Not much gamerscore here. Still engrossed in Cyberpunk 2077. Backlog intensifying.
FIFA is kind of a complex game for completionists because it involves many game modes:
Most of the achievements are really easy and you can get around 600g in less than 5 hours. There are two grindy achievements though:
There are only two achievements that require skill:
And then there are a few annoying co-op matches. Win a Volta game with three other players on your team, play 10 co-op matches on Ultimate Team, win a league game in Be a Pro (you have to create a club for this one)…
And yes, the achievements are mostly the same every year. There are usually new achievements regarding new game modes introduced in the latest iteration, but that’s it.
Same here. Probably going to either 100% or near it for Cyberpunk 2077… just so much to do. I have most of the zones done, thankfully.
Dragon Quest 11 does something achievement wise that i absolutely love… Giving achievements after significant story moments. I hate how many games ignore that when playing a single player game.
Completion #105: Yakuza: Like a Dragon
One of the best games not only of this year, but of the entire generation. The Yakuza games always had incredible story, but I was not much fan of the brawler gameplay. But then they decided to swift to one of my favorite genres: turn-based RPG. There was no way the game would end up being bad.
Every now and then the story throws at you a plot twist that takes your breath away. The side stories, as it has always been the case with the Yakuza games, are incredible. Some of them are hilarious, some of them are sad, and most of them makes your heart fill with joy.
Ichiban is a fantastic protagonist, and the rest of the cast blends in extremely well. They also managed to connect Ichiban’s story with the rest of the Yakuza lore, preparing the ground in such a perfect way for future games.
Achievements-wise, it is one of the most beginner-friendly list of any of the Yakuza games. You don’t have to beat New Game +, you don’t have the beat the game on Legend difficulty, you don’t even have to do 100% of the game. You will unlock most of the achievements by playing through the story and doing most of the side stuff.
It would be a real nice 40-hour 3/10 completion if it wasn’t for the True Final Millenium Tower. When I beat the game my party was at around level 60. To beat this final dungeon I had to max the level of all my characters, as well as their main jobs + level up most of the other jobs. And even then the dungeon is no joke and you should always be on the lookout of being OHKO’d or having your whole party suffering from a status-ailment. You have to make your way up through the tower while defeating all the bosses. There are no checkpoints. And the final boss summons every boss you had beaten up to that point.
After deciding my party was good enough, it took me around 7 hours to finally beat the tower. My hands were sweating like no other achievement made me sweat during this year, with the exception for Forza Horizon 4’s Heads Up. But it all ended up working out and I finally completed the game, clocking in 68 hours on my save file and 78 hours according to the Microsoft tracker (probably due to loading my save after some unsuccessful tries).
Yakuza is one of those rare games that leaves us with a felling of emptiness after we finally complete it. I can’t possibly recommend it enough.
I have 85 hours played and have every achievement except for the true final tower. I’m not sure if i have the patience to go back and get the last one. Awesome completion!
Fun fact: since I started grinding achievements for this OT, I increased my gamerscore by over 20%, most of it since October to be exact. I was around 250k when this challenge started, now I’m closing on 310k. And I’ve been on Live since 2009!
I was so glad that I didn’t need to grind every job to max level like most guides seem to suggest. It would have added around 20 or so hours to my completion.
If it helps, this was the team I used to beat the final tower:
This was my back up (which, to be honest, I almost didn’t use during the tower);
When you reach the final fight and the final boss summons the three shadow characters, stop using AoE attacks. First of all summon Mr. Masochist, and then use your strongest single enemy attack on the final boss. If you use AoE attacks, you deploy the other characters HP and they start summoning special attacks. Focus in one enemy at a time.
The perfect order for dealing with the final fight is:
1. Amon; 2. Majima; 3. Saejima and 4. Kiryu
This is the result: 
But yeah, I’ve been affected aswell. Here is my TA score per month since September:
Attention: the Week 16 ranking starts now!
Here are the results of the 15th week:
| # | User | Gamertag | Initial GS | Final GS | Total GS | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | @KARMAgoesHARD | KARMAgoesHARD | 566.909 | 569.669 | 2.760 | 10 |
| 2. | @FairyEmpire | baboy1337 | 307.023 | 309.528 | 2.505 | 9 |
| 3. | @BeardoN7x | BeardoA7x | 65.970 | 68.400 | 2.430 | 8 |
| 4. | @brunopcosta1 | brunopcosta1 | 156.060 | 158.070 | 2.010 | 7 |
| 4. | @BadMoodJones | Junglee91 | 72.721 | 74.731 | 2.010 | 7 |
| 6. | @Plagueborne | The Wicked Soul | 642.232 | 643.947 | 1.715 | 5 |
| 7. | @UnveiledArk | UnveiledArk | 248.445 | 249.820 | 1.375 | 4 |
| 8. | @PhantomFox | PhantomFox75 | 39.137 | 40.497 | 1.360 | 3 |
| 9. | @AroAnimagus | Aro Animagus | 3.430 | 4.595 | 1.165 | 2 |
| 10. | @procerus | procerus | 227.104 | 228.134 | 1.030 | 1 |
| 11. | TheSego | The Sego | 142.808 | 143.668 | 860 | 0 |
| 12. | Akosii | Akosii | 302.670 | 303.465 | 795 | 0 |
| 13. | CRZYSPZ | CRZYSPZ | 350.972 | 351.737 | 765 | 0 |
| 13. | Scottish_Sin | Scottish Sin | 506.996 | 507.761 | 765 | 0 |
| 15. | riazor | Riazor | 352.748 | 353.458 | 710 | 0 |
| 16. | Johnohno | DarhJohno | 356.440 | 357.130 | 690 | 0 |
| 17. | SheepDip | Ryuukishi634 | 334.060 | 334.705 | 645 | 0 |
| 18. | Chyld989 | Chyld989 | 332.390 | 332.860 | 470 | 0 |
| 19. | Jeremy | Jeremy Saunders | 247.679 | 248.134 | 455 | 0 |
| 20. | FaultLineBlues | wahaj | 21.975 | 22.425 | 450 | 0 |
| 21. | Shadowgasm | Shadowgasm | 228.167 | 228.582 | 415 | 0 |
| 22. | supercommodore | supercommodore | 12.907 | 13.292 | 385 | 0 |
| 23. | Bluehawk357 | BlueHawk357 | 106.028 | 106.398 | 370 | 0 |
| 24. | Running_Riot | BoutTreeFidy | 33.250 | 33.600 | 350 | 0 |
| 25. | Knottian | Knottian | 201.805 | 202.140 | 335 | 0 |
| 26. | dfunktjester | dFunkt jestEr | 105.227 | 105.517 | 290 | 0 |
| 27. | Infamy | regret | 451.560 | 451.835 | 275 | 0 |
| 28. | Darcadia | cyllis | 78.438 | 78.693 | 255 | 0 |
| 29. | dscharles | dscharles | 45.941 | 46.181 | 240 | 0 |
| 30. | OneBadMutha | OneBadMutha | 44.375 | 44.610 | 235 | 0 |
| 31. | MasterLeePhD | Master Lee PhD | 281.799 | 282.024 | 225 | 0 |
| 32. | xJavontax | xJavontax | 25.024 | 25.214 | 190 | 0 |
| 33. | CallMeCraig | matsze | 187.825 | 187.995 | 170 | 0 |
| 34. | low187 | ShadowArceus5 | 213.415 | 213.545 | 130 | 0 |
| 35. | Bugalugs214 | bugalugs214 | 122.215 | 122.320 | 105 | 0 |
| 36. | BananaBox39 | MaidenLOKO | 181.495 | 181.595 | 100 | 0 |
| 37. | Scottx2 | Scott x 2 | 59.708 | 59.764 | 56 | 0 |
| 38. | MRE-Inc | MRE Inc | 64.572 | 64.627 | 55 | 0 |
| 39. | Hammer24 | Hammer2424 | 96.333 | 96.383 | 50 | 0 |
| 40. | MMarfil | MMarfil | 92.524 | 92.569 | 45 | 0 |
| 41. | TheSlickTony | TheSlickTony | 100.857 | 100.897 | 40 | 0 |
| 42. | MrZweistein | MrZweistein | 128.080 | 128.100 | 20 | 0 |
| 42. | Sikamikanico | Sikamikanico | 117.701 | 117.721 | 20 | 0 |
| 44. | Mort | Mortaigne | 137.247 | 137.262 | 15 | 0 |
| 45. | DannyEight | Danny Eight | 1.690 | 1.690 | 0 | 0 |
| 45. | Foorbits | Foorbits | 43.583 | 43.583 | 0 | 0 |
| 45. | parksey1972 | Parksey1972 | 17.683 | 17.683 | 0 | 0 |
Here is the General Points Ranking with the results from the first 15 weeks:
| # | User | Gamertag | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | FairyEmpire | baboy1337 | 333 |
| 2. | KARMAgoesHARD | KARMAgoesHARD | 287 |
| 3. | Plagueborne | The Wicked Soul | 270 |
| 4. | Shadowgasm | Shadowgasm | 267 |
| 5. | BadMoodJones | Junglee91 | 212 |
| 6. | MasterLeePhD | Master Lee PhD | 171 |
| 7. | Akosii | Akosii | 167 |
| 8. | brunopcosta1 | brunopcosta1 | 132 |
| 9. | Chyld989 | Chyld989 | 122 |
| 10. | Scottish_Sin | Scottish Sin | 115 |
| 11. | CallMeCraig | matsze | 92 |
| 12. | SheepDip | Ryuukishi634 | 61 |
| 13. | Infamy | regret | 55 |
| 14. | Bluehawk357 | BlueHawk357 | 54 |
| 15. | Mort | Mortaigne | 47 |
| 16. | UnveiledArk | UnveiledArk | 42 |
| 17. | low187 | ShadowArceus5 | 28 |
| 18. | BeardoN7x | BeardoA7x | 25 |
| 19. | CRZYSPZ | CRZYSPZ | 19 |
| 20. | MMarfil | MMarfil | 16 |
| 21. | Darcadia | cyllis | 10 |
| 22. | riazor | Riazor | 9 |
| 23. | TheSlickTony | TheSlickTony | 8 |
| 24. | procerus | procerus | 7 |
| 25. | Scottx2 | Scott x 2 | 5 |
| 26. | dfunktjester | dFunkt jestEr | 4 |
| 26. | PhantomFox | PhantomFox75 | 4 |
| 28. | Hammer24 | Hammer2424 | 3 |
| 28. | Jeremy | Jeremy Saunders | 3 |
| 30. | FaultLineBlues | wahaj | 2 |
| 30. | AroAnimagus | Aro Animagus | 2 |
| 32. | BananaBox39 | MaidenLOKO | 0 |
| 32. | Bugalugs214 | bugalugs214 | 0 |
| 32. | DannyEight | Danny Eight | 0 |
| 32. | dscharles | dscharles | 0 |
| 32. | Foorbits | Foorbits | 0 |
| 32. | Johnohno | DarhJohno | 0 |
| 32. | Knottian | Knottian | 0 |
| 32. | MRE-Inc | MRE Inc | 0 |
| 32. | MrZweistein | MrZweistein | 0 |
| 32. | OneBadMutha | OneBadMutha | 0 |
| 32. | parksey1972 | Parksey1972 | 0 |
| 32. | Running_Riot | BoutTreeFidy | 0 |
| 32. | Sikamikanico | Sikamikanico | 0 |
| 32. | supercommodore | supercommodore | 0 |
| 32. | TheSego | The Sego | 0 |
| 32. | xJavontax | xJavontax | 0 |
Every GamerScore earned from now until Monday, January 4, 2021 2:59 AM will count towards Week 16’s Ranking. Whoever earns the most GamerScore during the week will gain 10 points, the second place will gain 9 points, and so on. Then the Ranking will reset again and a new week will begin.
Every GamerScore earned until Friday, January 1, 2021 2:59 AM will also count towards December’s Ranking. Whoever earns the most GamerScore during the month will gain 100 points, the second place will gain 90 points, and so on. Then the Ranking will reset again and a new month will begin.
Don’t forget that this topic is first and foremost destined to talk about all your achievements and trophies, discuss completions and even try to gather people for a boosting session! The Ranking is just a side activity to take part in.
Good luck everyone and happy hunting!
I got one achievement all week! Haha, fml. Ah well, should get some more time for gaming soon. I have started Cyberpunk 2077 though (which is working great so far on XSX btw!) but that game is gonna take a while with not a lot of GS. I plan to just do a first playthrough and then wait for the XSX-version and some more content before going all in.
I have a few side-games lined up though, which I hope I can get around to as well.
Any suggestions for January’s featured game? The biggest releases are Hitman and The Medium, but the first is not on Game Pass, and the second will be released only in the very end of the month and is a Series X exclusive 
By the way, a little heads up: for obvious reasons I will not be able to post December’s ranking results as soon as it finishes. Don’t expect an update on 12 AM January 1st 
If there isn’t a game that qualifies, we could just skip the month. I have a feeling a few games will pop up unannounced though, so we could always wait and hope that happens.
Yeah, I thought about that. Skipping the month at first, and when the new Game Pass games for January are revealed, if there is anything that meets the criteria, we set up a poll to decide.
The other option was to make a poll with every Game Pass game that meet the criteria (excluding Gears Tactics and Call of the Sea). But people would have to be ok with the fact that someone might already have played the games and therefore earned some Gamerscore.
Slacker.
